Catholic Churches of NCC includes: Saint Patrick Parish Seneca WI; Saint Philip Parish Rolling Ground WI; Saint Mary Parish Gays Mills WI; St James Cemetery Rising Sun WI; Kneeland Cemetery Seneca WI catholicchurchesofncc.com

Divine Mercy Sunday     April 27, 2025

St. Mary, St. Patrick, St. Philip Parishes

Mail address for all three parishes:

PO Box 35, Seneca WI 54654

Website: https://www.catholicchurchesofncc.com

Confessions: Usually, 30 minutes before every

Mass and by appointment.

Mass Intentions This Week

Monthly Eucharistic Adoration:

* St. Patrick: First Friday after the 8:30 AM Mass

* St. Philip: First Sunday after the 10:30 AM Mass with confessions for 30 minutes.

Pastor: Fr. Tom Huff – frtomhuff@gmail.com St. Patrick's Rectory 608-734-3252

Bookkeeper: Angie Martin -- 608-734-3931 stpatricks.seneca.bookkeeper@gmail.com

Bulletin/Mass Intentions/Membership: Yvonne Hady -- 608 485-2109 hadyy@mwt.net

Bulletin Information Deadline: Tuesdays at 4:00 PM. Bulletin is posted on our website.

UPCOMING PARISH EVENTS

Sun., Apr. 27 Pancake Breakfast at St. Philip, Serving 7:30 – 11:00 AM

Wed., Apr. 30 Confirmation at St. John’s Church, 6:30 PM

Adult Faith Study, 7:00 PM at St. Mary’s

Sun., May 4 First Communion at St. Patrick's and St. Philip's Parishes:

Sat. Masses: St. Mary at 4 PM, regular 7:00 PM at St. Patrick

Sun. Masses: St. Philip at 8 AM, St. Patrick at 10 AM

Sun., May 11 First Communion at St. Mary’s Parish:

Sat. Mass – regular 7:00 PM at St. Patrick

Sun. Masses – 7:30 AM at St. Patrick,

9:00 AM at St. Philip, 10:30 AM at St. Mary (Brunch After)

Please pray for those being confirmed

from our three parishes on May 30th:

Jonathan Morrick-Brouillette, Quentin Huber,

Rita Sime, Anthony Caya, Penelope Fisher,

Grant Sime, Ingrid Carstens, Bea Moran,

Kaylee Jelinek and Lucy O'Brien

Please pray for those receiving First Communion

from our three parishes: June Jelinek,

Cash Adams, Stella Joy, Alex Oppriecht,

Elizabeth Powell and Samuel Powell.

Condolences to the family and friends of Danyl Drake, who recently lost her battle with cancer.

Income from Last Week

St. Philip Announcements:

St. Philip Candles: Contact Bonnie Murphy. The cost is $5 per candle.

Pancake Breakfast this Sunday, serving 7:30 to 11:00 AM. Mass at 9:00 AM.

St. Philip’s now has a Mothers’ and Little Children’s Area in the church basement.

St. Mary Announcements:

Rosary – 30 minutes before Mass -- St. Mary’s Church is open each day from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM during the winter months. You are welcome to stop in to pray and/or light a candle for your special intention.

First Sunday Potluck – Potluck brunch after Mass each first Sunday of the month. All are welcome, dish to share is appreciated, but not required. Next potluck is Sun., May 11 after First Communion.

The Little Flowers Girl Club at St. Mary's Parish. If you are interested in joining The Little Flowers Girl Club please reach out to Ashley Korish for more information (970)216-1143 or ash22morrick@gmail.com

St. Patrick Announcements:

St Patrick’s PCCW will sponsor a rummage sale during May 16 & 17 Rummage on the River weekend at the parish hall. Donations will be accepted the first two weeks of May, starting May 5. Workers will be needed during the rummage sale, please offer your availability by contacting Susie Garfoot at 608-317-0515

From the Priest’s Corner: When to Doubt and When to Believe

For some people, no amount of evidence would ever convince them to believe in God and in the resurrection of Jesus. The disbelief of Thomas reflects the doubts of someone who would very much like to believe in Jesus’ resurrection, but he just finds it too astonishing to accept.

Now Thomas’ struggle to believe in the resurrection of Jesus is an opportunity for us to reflect on our own doubts as well. It should make us realize how astonishing the resurrection of Jesus really is. Not since the dawn of creation has anything so significant happened. When Jesus rose from the dead, He rose with a glorified body. He still had the same body, a body which still bore the marks of His cruel death, but in His resurrection, His body was fundamentally transformed into a body that would never die again. So, the resurrection is truly astonishing and it changes everything for those who follow Jesus. So, when Thomas finally met the risen Lord, he not only believed that Jesus had risen, but in his confession “My Lord and my God,” Thomas was admitting that Jesus is truly God.

Skepticism and doubts are often a good thing when it comes to claims concerning; beauty products, wonder drugs, health diets, zodiac signs, fortune cookies, atheistic evolutionary theories, philosophical and political systems which dehumanizes mankind, etc. So, while it is a good thing to doubt in some cases, this doesn’t mean doubting everything is good. Rather it means knowing when we should doubt and when we should believe. For instance, if all our human relationships are filled with doubts, we would never be able to trust another person. Belief in the goodness of others is necessary in our relationships with others, if we are to interact with them in a healthy way. However, on the other hand, prudence and common-sense dictates that we should also have a healthy doubt concerning persons who have betrayed our trust or appear shady in some way.

Now when it comes to the resurrection, we still need evidence to believe in it, and we do have the evidence: we have the astonishing transformation of the apostles after they encountered the risen Jesus. They were full of fear and were hiding from the authorities up to a week after the crucifixion until Jesus showed Himself to be alive to them in the Upper Room, even passing through the locked doors. After that encounter they no longer hid, but instead were now out in the streets boldly proclaiming the bodily resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth and teaching His gospel message of redemption and salvation. How insane would it have been for them to do this, if Jesus had not risen from the dead! Why would any sane person be willing to be imprisoned or die for someone who promise to rise from the dead and failed to do so?

We also have the witnesses of the many martyrs and saints down through the ages, and we have the living tradition of the Church handed down to us. In the light of faith, we have all the evidence we need to make this act of faith. In our weak human nature, we may struggle to believe that Jesus is truly divine and that He died and rose again for us, so that we might enjoy eternal life. But the transformation of Thomas and the others apostles should help us to embrace the astonishing reality of the resurrection of Jesus and His promise of immortal life and be transformed by it.

Tri-Parish Prayer List – We want to pray for the ill and others in our parishes who need ongoing prayer. To be placed on or to place someone on our prayer list, please call: Sue Peterson 608-735-4865, Bonnie Murphy 608-386-4954, or Ica Boylen 608-734-3287.

CALLED TO JOIN A FRANCISCAN COMMUNITY?

The Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in La Crosse, Wisconsin invite those who are interested in exploring how they could be called to live a life of community, prayer, and service according to the Gospel and the teachings of Sts. Francis and Clare of Assisi to join us for a Charism Immersion at St. Rose Convent June 9-13, 2025. Contact us by April 30th: vocations@fspa.org or 608-782-5610 ext. 292.

Divine Mercy: Jesus tells St. Faustina (Diary 699) that on Divine Mercy Sunday, I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the Fount of My Mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.” All we need to do is receive Communion in a state of grace, whether your last confession was 10, 20 or even more days before Divine Mercy Sunday, as long as you do not have unconfessed mortal sin on your soul, then you are spiritually alive in Christ and can receive His special graces from Holy Communion on this great Feast Day.  Divine Mercy Sunday could just as easily be termed, “Divine Generosity Sunday” when we see how little Our Lord requires from us in order that we may be able to receive the extraordinary outpouring of His love.

Marriage Moments: “April showers bring May flowers.” Recall a sad (perhaps rainy) time during your marriage…Now recall a joyful recent time. Plan a fun recreational activity for May 1 – May Day (Susan Vogt)

Parenting Pointers: As the saying goes, “April showers bring May flowers.” Has your child had any sad (perhaps rainy) times recently? Search out together a fun activity to have in the near future – perhaps a hike in the sun or forest, perhaps picking wild flowers. (Susan Vogt)